1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal device such as a personal computer, an information processing apparatus such as an information device that has an information processing function as a principal function and an electric device that has an information processing function as a sub function, an information processing method, an information processing program, and a recording medium such as a CD-ROM. Specific examples of information devices having an information processing function as a principal function include personal computers. Specific examples of electric devices having an information processing function as a sub function include image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, scanners, facsimile machines, compound machine, and combination machines that have dramatically improved the information processing functions in recent years.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, compound machines and combination machines each having the functions of a copying machine, a printer, a scanner, and a facsimile machine have been on the market. Each of those compound machines and combination machines has hardware units such as an image pickup unit, a printer unit, a communication unit, and an operation display unit, and four software units that are equivalent to a copying machine, a printer, a scanner, and a facsimile machine. By switching the software units, each of the compound machines and combination machines functions as a copying machine, a printer, a scanner, or a facsimile machine. When functioning as a copying machine or a printer, each of the compound machines and combination machines prints an image on a printing paper sheet or the like. When functioning as a copying machine or a scanner, each of the compound machines and combination machines reads the image of an original document or the like. When functioning as a facsimile machine, each of the compound machines and combination machines exchanges images with another device via a telephone line or the like.
Among the functions of the compound machines and combination machines, there are functions that require “user information”. For example, when a compound machine or a combination machine functions as a scanner or a facsimile machine, “user information” such as a mail address and a facsimile number. A compound machine or a combination machine normally has a function of managing the user information. It is more preferable for a compound machine or a combination machine to have a function of acquiring the user information from “user information managing servers” that manage the user information. Specific examples of the “user information managing servers” include LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) servers.
In the LDAP, people and organizations are regarded as “objects”. The information as to each object is stored and managed under the “entry” of the object. Under the “entry”, an “object class” that is the information as to the type of the object, and the “attributes” that are the information as to the characteristics of the object are stored. The attributes include “attribute types” such as c (country), o (organization), ou (organization unit), cn (full name), sn (surname), givenName (first name), mail (mail address), facsimileTelephoneNumber (facsimile number), and “attribute values” such as c=Japan, o=Ricoh, ou=research & development, cn=Taro Suzuki, sn=Suzuki, and givenName=Taro. Since the entries are classified under the object classes, the identification name (DN) of each entry is formed by arranging the relative identification name (RDN) of the entry that derives from one attribute (identification attribute) of the entry in the hierarchical order.
Various requests and responses are exchanged between a LDAP client and a LDAP server. In the LDAP, authorizing operations such as “bind” and “unbind”, inquiring operations such as “search” and “compare”, and updating operations such as “add”, “delete”, and “modify”, are prepared. For example, when a request for a searching operation is transmitted from a LDAP client to a LDAP server, search results are supplied from the LDAP server to the LDAP client.
As the information processing function of each compound machine or combination machine has dramatically improved, more and more compound machines and combination machines perform usage restricting operations to restrict the rights of users to use the compound machine and combination machines. When a usage restricting operation is performed to restrict the rights of users to use a compound machine or a combination machine, it is more convenient to allow the users of a group A to use a function A, and allow the users of a group B to use a function B, than to allow a user A to use the function A and allow a user B to use the function B. In other words, it is more convenient to set usage restrictions on each group rather than on each user. To realize this, however, it is necessary to prepare the means to set the groups of users to use the compound machine or combination machine.